Door for hangars and other structures

ABSTRACT

A door for hangars and other structures in which the door is made in a plurality of sections with each section being comprised of slidably mounted panels guided in fixed and movable guide structures. The movable guide structures are mounted intermediate the length of the door and include telescopic parts which move with the panels to clear the door opening when the panels are elevated. The panels and movable guide structures are stored in the head frame of a door opening of any desired configuration. The construction permits the central portion of the door configuration to be of a greater elevation in the side portions to accommodate high-tailed aircraft.

United States Patent [191 Hammerstrom [111 3,760,861 Sept. 25, 1973 DOORFOR HANGARS AND OTHER STRUCTURES [22] Filed: Feb. 22, 1972 [21] Appl.No.: 227,817

[52] US. Cl. 160/184 3,342,246 9/1967 Reiss 160/195 PrimaryExaminer-Dennis L. Taylor Att0rneyEverett J. Schroeder et a1.

[ 5 7 ABSTRACT A door for hangars and other structures in which the dooris made in a plurality of sections with each section being comprised ofslidably mounted panels guided in fixed and movable guide structures.The movable guide structures are mounted intermediate the length of thedoor and include telescopic parts which move with the panels to clearthe door opening when the panels are elevated. The panels and movableguide structures are stored in the head frame of a door opening of anydesired configuration. The construction permits the central portion ofthe door configuration to be of a greater elevation in the side portionsto accommodate hightailed aircraft.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 3,760,861

sum 2 BF 2 FIG 5.

DOOR FOR HANGARS AND OTHER STRUCTURES My invention relates to a door forhangars and other structures and more particularly to an improved hangardoor having sections adapted to open to varying heights and with thesections being selectively opened to vary the size of the openingtherethrough.

Hangar doors are generally made in sections to cover the opening span inthe side of a hangar with the doors being generally slidably or rollablymounted such that they may be shifted in one direction or the other toadjust the horizontal opening therein. However, such doors because ofthe height requirements for airplanes are built to correspond to theheight opening making each of the individual sections extremely large,difficult to manufacture and install. Attempts have been made toovercome this problem by making the individual sections of roll-up typedoors with provisions for shifting the guide posts horizontally toprovide the opening therethrough. However, such structures are subjectto problems of wind resistance and high maintenance and are restrictedto doors having the same height dimensions for all sections. Attemptshave been made to make individual door sections in a plurality of leaveswhich are spaced from one another and slidably mounted in guides so thatthe individual leaves may be elevated in their guides to adjustablepositions. Such doors have been restricted to a same height dimensioncorresponding to the maximum height opening of the hanger. With suchstructures, complicated guide structures which pivot to clear the dooropening are required.

The present invention is directed to an improved hangar door or doorclosure for hangars or other structures in which the individual doorsections are made of a plurality of slidably mounted leaves but in whichthe individual sections have different height dimensions so that a dooropening is provided which will accommodate modern aircraft havingextremely high tails. This improved door will permit the exit and'egressof such aircraft to the hangar through the opening of individualsections and does not require a door inwhich all sections are of thesame dimension. Thus, the cost of the overall door and the cost of fieldfabrication and maintenance is reduced and many of the problems of windresistance is eliminated. Theimproved hangar door may be constructed tofit any sized hangar door opening or opening in the similar structurewith a minimum amount of door surface to provide a desired opening of aparticular type and width for the purpose intended. Thus, in hangars thedoor can be constructed to open for varying wing widths and varying tailheights with a minimum number of door elements and door sizes involved.In addition, the leaves of the door section construction are guided inchannels or guides which are fixed at the outer edges of the opening andtelescopically mounted at the inner edges of the intermediate sectionsso that a complete opening is obtained by moving the guides verticallyafter the leaves of the sections are raised to eliminate allobstructions in the openings. The door is constructed so that any leafof any section may be opened to vary the size of door opening withoutrequiring the operation of additional sections. Similarly, the leaves ofeach section are stored in an elevated position behind a head framerequiring a minimum spacing or minimum amount of storage area and noobstruction to the desired opening. Further, the improved hangar doormay be manufactured from standard parts designed to fit any size hangaropening with the doors being assembled in the field with a minimumamount of cost of field fabrication.

Therefore it is the principal object of this invention to provide animproved hangar door construction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a door for hangars orother enclosures in which varying portions of the door open to differentelevations.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improvedhangar door which may be adjustably opened to any width opening and tovarying sized height openings to accommodate varying sized aircraft.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improvedhangar door which has a lower initial cost and reduced installation andmaintenance costs.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from areading of the attached description together with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view in front elevation of an improved hangar doorincorporating the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the door of FIG. 1 taken along the lines22 therein;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged broken section view of the door constructionshowing the guide structures for the door panel;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a guiding and lifting bracket for thetelescopic portion of the guide structure for the improved hangar door;

H6. 5 is a schematic view in elevation of another embodiment of thehangar door showing a larger opening central section; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a door panel.

FIG. 1 shows schematically an enclosure at 10 which simulates a hangaror other structure having at least one open side thereof into which adoor or door sections are positioned for the purpose of closing the sameto permit ingress and egress of equipment, such as airplanes, thereto.The hangar or enclosure is shown schematically as including a supportingframe structure l5 including trusses and beams, indicated generally at20, defining the roof area and providing support for the door structureas will be hereinafter identified. The face of the enclosure around thedoor opening includes side frame parts and an integrally supported headframe part in which the sections of the door and its operators aremounted. The door opening is substantially the width of the enclosureand the height of the door opening may be selected or constructed to behigher at the central section or sections than at the side sections,such as is indicated in FIG. 1. Thus, the door closure is identified asincorporating three sections numbered 35, and 45. The individual doorsections are made of a plurality of leaves or panels, indicatedgenerally at 50, which as will be hereinafter described, ridein guidestructures and are positioned in a side-byside relationship so that theymay be placed edge to edge to define the door section and provide theclosure for that portion of the door opening. As will be seen in FIG. 1,the schematic disclosure shows a composite door structure formed of thesections 35, 40 and which provide for openings of two, three and twopanel heights respectively. Thus, the outer or side door sections, 35and 45 are comprised of two panels each, one edge of which is mounted ina stationary guide structure indicated at and respectively. Thesestationary guide structures are attached to the side 15 and head frames20 and define the edges of the opening. As

will be herinafter noted, the opposite edges of the wing panels 50forming the sections 35 and 45 are guided in special movable guidestructures, indicated generally at 70, with the three panels of the doorsection 40 riding in parts of the movable guide structures 70 on theopposite surfaces of each of the movable guide structures. Thisside-by-side arrangement of the panels which is guided in the fixed andmovable guide structures will best be seen in the sectional view of FIG.2 looking down on the individual panels or leaves in the respectiveguide structures from the top.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged and broken view of a portion of the door fromthe top standing on the details of the mounting guide and panelstherein. Thus, as will be seen in FIG. 3, one of the fixed guidestructures 55 is shown as a C shaped channel member having an L shapedflange mounted therein to define the two channels for the door sections50 defining the wing panels of FIG. 1. The channel construction for thisend of the wing panels or the fixed guide structures 55 and 60 areidentical and are slightly greater in height than three times the heightof a single wing panel so that both wing panels mounted therein will bemoved to a minimum clearance of the height of two wing panels. Omittedin FIG. 3 are the roller guides on the ends of the panels which will beevident from a consideration of FIG. 6. These fixed guide structures arerigidly attached to the head frame 30 which in turn is attached to thebuilding frame. Also shown in FIG. 3 is one of the movable guidestructures indicated generally at 70 which is formed of a fixed guidepart 75 and a pair of movable guide channels 76, 77 slidably mountedtherein. The fixed guide part 75 is generally an I shaped beam having apair of L shaped channel members 78, 79 mounted therein which serve tomount a bearing guide surface 80 extending down on the fixed guide partwhich extends to the maximum height of opening from the lowest doorpanel in the open position or that for the wing panels as will beevident in FIG. 1. The L shaped channel member 79 defines with one endof the I shaped beam 75 a fixed channel surface for the upper wing panel50 which in its closed position represents the highest of the tailpanels in the door section 40. The movable channel parts are generally Cshaped channel members with L shaped channels welded thereto, such as isindicated at 82 and 83, to define the side-by-side channels with thesimilar construction for the fixed guide member 55. The rear end of the'l beam 75 mounts a pairof fixed guide members 88 on the edges thereofcorresponding to the guide members 80 which will serve for guiding thechannels 76, 77 in the I beam as will be hereinafter defined. Thechannel 76 mounts the opposite ends of the wing panels 50 which arejournaled in the fixed guide structure 55 and one of these panels ordoor leaves will be moved to the lower most position in contact with theground while the other will be moved so as to overlap the same at theupper edge thereof forming the two panel closure for the wing section ofthis portion of the door. Suitable seal members such as is indicated at90 are mounted on one face of each of the panel members 50 and cooperatewith the guide structures to seal the panels therein in sliding movementin the respective guide structures. Thus, as will be seen in FIG. 3 thatthe channel parts 76, 77 are positioned on opposite surfaces of thestationary part 75 of the movable guide structure and each of thechannel sections or guides 76, 77 are movable independent of one anotherand as will be hereinafter noted will be guided on the fixed part 75.

FIG. 4 shows a bearing plate 100 having bearing members 102, 103positioned on each end of the same and cooperating with an outwardlydirected bearing member 104 to form a three-sided bearing surface whichwill cooperate with the bearing guides 80 and 88 positioned on thestationary parts 75 of the guide structure 70. The plate 100 ispositioned on top of the channel members 76, 77 and suitably securedthereto such that the bearings 102, 103 and 104 will be positionedaround the respective bearing guides on either ends of the plate toguide the channel members in vertical movement on the stationary part 75of the telescopic guide structure. The stationary part, as previouslyindicated, is attached to the overhead frame and depends therefrom in acantilever fashion with the channel parts 76, 77 telescoping verticallyupward through movement of a cable mechanism such as is indicated at 110and 112 in FIG. 1. This attaches to a cable lift bracket 1 15 positionedon top of the plate. The same construction will be found with respect tothe opposite movable guide structure positioned at the other end of thetail panels. Thus, it will be understood that the movable guidestructure will be formed of stationary and movable guide parts 75, 76and 77, respectively, to guide the wing panels for the door section 45and the opposite end of the wing panels for the door sections 40, 45.The third or upper most panel 50 in the door section 40 is guided in thechannels formed in the fixed or stationary guide part and defined by theangle irons 79 and one end of the I shaped beam. A similar constructionwill be found at each end of the door section 40 so that the upper mostpanel for the tail section or door section will have a separate channelspaced from the movable channel members 76, 77 and formed entirely inthe stationary channel part 75 which will guide the upper or thirdsection in the three part door section shown in FIG. 1. It will beunderstood that this door section, as will be hereinafter noted, mayinclude several panels to increase the height of the center section ofthe door.

The individual panels in each of the door sections 35, 40 and 45, withmounted in fixed channel guides or movable channel members may be all ofthe same dimensions and construction as shown in the embodiment herein.For example, with a ninety foot hangar door opening, individual panelswill be of approximately a 30 foot length to cover the opening. Theindividual panels are constructed of a basic angle iron frame part suchas is indicated at 51 in FIG. 6 with intermediate cross braces tostrengthen the same. This frame part is closed with a box-like sheetingconfiguration, such as is indicated at 52, which is mounted on the faceof the frame and constructed in sections to span the entire length suchthat the composite panel includes a supporting frame and sheeting face52 along the extent of the same. The individual frames for the panelsinclude roller guide members, such as is indicated at 54, at the upperand lower edges of the frames and on each end of the same for thepurpose of guiding the panels in the respective guide structures. Inaddition, guide bearings 56 are mounted on flange plates and attached tothe upper and lower surface of the frame parts 51 and at each end of thesame to provide a roller bearing surface in a direction degrees to thedirection'of the roller bearing guides 54. The actual bearing surfaces54, 56 are omitted in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 for simplicity, but it will beunderstood that the ends of the panel frames as they are mounted in thefixed guide members and and in the telescopic or movable guide membersor the channels 76, 77 in each of said telescopic guide structures willbear against three sides of the generally U shaped configuration of thechannel to guide the panels therein. Although not shown, it will beunderstood that each individual panel section will have suitable cablingattached thereto such that the panel may be elevated in the respectiveguide members vertically from a closed to an open position through theuseof cabling, as will be hereinafter defined. Thus, the panels or theextremities of the same as they are mounted in the fixed guide members55 and 60 and in the telescopic channel members 76, 77 of the movableguide members 70 will have bearing surfaces thereon bearing against therespective guide and channel members at each extremity of the panel toguide the panel for sliding movement therein. The movable channel parts-76, 77 are similarly guided in the stationary portion of the movableguide structure by means of the bearings 102, 103, 104 cooperating withthe guides 80 and 88 on the stationary portion 75. The bearing platewill be at the top of each of the individual channel members 76, 77 andguide strips 120, 121 at either side of the channel members 76, 77 willslide between similar bearing constructions attached to the fixed guidestructure parts 75 (not shown) near the extremity of the same to providetwo points of bearing support and guiding contact of the movable guideparts 76, 77 in the stationary part 75 of the movable guide structure asthe channel members or guide parts 76, 77 are moved vertically upward inthe stationary part after the panels have been elevated partially andthen simultaneously therewith to clear the opening as the panels areelevated.

In FIG. 1, there is shown schematically three different sets of paneloperators 130, and mounted on portions of the head frame and each havinga plurality of cabling attached thereto bymeans of which the individualpanels in the door sections 35, 40 and 45 may be elevated and in whichthe channel parts 76, 77 or the telescopic guide parts will be elevatedas the door is'opened. The actual details of this construction andconnection may vary but it will be understood that the operators aresuch that they may selectively elevate the wing panels or the panels inthe door sections 35 and 45 selectively. Similarly, the panels in thesection 40 will be elevated and it will be obvious that as the panels 50in any and all of the sections are elevated, the ends of the same guidedin the movable channel parts 76, 77 necessitate elevation of the channelparts 76, 77 to maintain the panels in guiding relationship in thechannels. Thus, although not shown, it will be understood that theactuators will be sequenced in such a manner that the panels will beelevated only as the channel parts are raised to keep the ends of thepanels being guided by the movable channel parts 76, 77 in guidingrelationship within the channels necessitating simultaneous movement ofthe channels. With the improved door structure, however, the panelmembers for any of the door sections 35, 40 or 45 may be opened to theirmaximum dimension without operating any of the panels in the remainingdoor sections to selectively vary the door opening. Similarly, theheight of the opening for any of the sections may be varied by movingone or more of the individual panels up to the rest position.

As shown schematically in FIG. 5, the door construction may be varied.Thus, the outer or wing panel sections of the door may include twopanels, as.in the before-mentioned embodiment, while the intermediate orcenter section of the door may include four panels and provide anadditional height clearance for the center section to accommodatehigh-tailed aircraft to be moved into and out of a hangar typeenclosure.

In the operation of the hangar doors, the movable parts of the guidestructures as they are lowered to the grounds surface to close the doorscooperate with socket type apertures (not shown) in the grounds surfaceto rigidly secure the same and provide a door structure capable ofstanding wind resistance and side loading. As the panels are elevatedand the movable parts of the guide structures are elevated they will beshielded and stored in the head frame 25, 30 to be properly supportedagainst wind loading. The improved door construction permits thestandardization of panel sections in sizes which can be readilytransported to an installation site and one in which the similarity inpanel sections permits reduction in cost of fabrication of the same.Similarly, the entire door may be installed on the side with a minimumamount of fabrication costs compared to prior constructions to providean improved hangar door structure.

In considering this invention it should be remembered that the presentdisclosure is illustrative only and the scope of the invention should bedetermined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A door for hangars and other structures having an opening thereincomprising, a plurality of door sections positioned across said openingside-by-side relationship and closing the same, each of said doorsections including a plurality of leaves forming the section with saidleaves being guided in structures at the edges thereof and parallel toone another, fixed guide structures positioned at the edges of saidopening and mounting the edges of the leaves forming the end sections insaid opening, movable guide structures mounting the edges of theleavesof the intermediate door sections and one edge of the leaves ofthe end section, said movable guide structures being formed oftelescopic parts one of which is fixed and with a pair of movable partshaving guide surfaces at the edges of the same to guide the leaves invertical movement, and roller means positioned between the part of theguide structure to guide the movable parts on the fixed part independentof movement of the leaves in the elevation of the same to hold and guidethe leaves in all positions of vertical movement.

2. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 1 in which theintermediate door sections open to a height greater than the endsections.

3. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 1 in which theleaves of each of the door sections are guided in a side-by-siderelationship and where there are a greater number of leaves in theintermediate sections of the door than in the end sections.

4. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 3 in which theleaves of each of the door sections have the same dimensions.

5. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 3 and includingmotive means for elevating the individual leaves of the respective doorsections.

6. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 5 and includingadditional motive means for telescoping the parts of the movable guidestructures to raise the same and clear the opening after the leavesthereof have been elevated.

7. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 1 and including ahead frame attached to the enclosure over the top of the opening inwhich the leaves and the telescopic parts of the movable guides arestored when the door is open.

8. The door for hangars and other structures of claim 1 in which themovable parts of the guide structure includes channel like frame memberssuspended from the head frame in a cantilever fashion.

9. A door for hangars and other structures having an opening thereincomprising, a plurality of door sections positioned across said openingin side-by-side relationship and closing the same, each of said doorsections including a plurality of leaves forming the section with saidleaves being guided in structures at the edges thereof and parallel toone another, fixed guide structures positioned at the edges of saidopening and mounting the edges of the leaves forming the end sections insaid opening, a movable guide structure mounting the opposite edges ofthe leaves of the end sections, said movable guide structure beingformed of a fixed part and a pair of movable parts in a telescopicrelationship with guide surfaces at the edges of the movable parts toguide the leaves in vertical movement, and roller means positionedbetween the fixed and movable parts of the guide structure to guide themovable parts within the fixed part in the elevation of the same withthe leaves being positioned in the movable parts in all positions inelevation.

1. A door for hangars and other structures having an opening thereincomprising, a plurality of door sections positioned across said openingside-by-side relationship and closing the same, each of said doorsections including a plurality of leaves forming the section with saidleaves being guided in structures at the edges thereof and parallel toone another, fixed guide structures positioned at the edges of saidopening and mounting the edges of the leaves forming the end sections insaid opening, movable guide structures mounting the edges of the leavesof the intermediate door sections and one edge of the leaves of the endsection, said movable guide structures being formed of telescopic partsone of which is fixed and with a pair of movable parts having guidesurfaces at the edges of the same to guide the leaves in verticalmovement, and roller means positioned between the part of the guidestructure to guide the movable parts on the fixed part independent ofmovement of the leaves in the elevation of the same to hold and guidethe leaves in all positions of vertical movement.
 2. The door forhangars and other structures of claim 1 in which the intermediate doorsections open to a height greater than the end sections.
 3. The door forhangars and other structures of claim 1 in which the leaves of each ofthe door sections are guided in a side-by-side relationship and wherethere are a greater number of leaves in the intermediate sections of thedoor than in the end sections.
 4. The door for hangars and otherstructures of claim 3 in which the leaves of each of the door sectionshave the same dimensions.
 5. The door for hangars and other structuresof claim 3 and including motive means for elevating the individualleaves of the respective door sections.
 6. The door for hangars andother structures of claim 5 and including additional motive means fortelescoping the parts of the movable guide structures to raise the sameand clear the opening after the leaves thereof have been elevated. 7.The door for hangars and other structures of claim 1 and including ahead frame attached to the enclosure over the top of the opening inwhich the leaves and the telescopic parts of the movable guides arestored when the door is open.
 8. The door for hangars and otherstructures of claim 1 in which the movable parts of the guide structureincludes channel like frame members suspended from the head frame in acantilever fashion.
 9. A door for hangars and other structures having anopening therein comprising, a plurality of door sections positionedacross said opening in side-by-side relationship and closing the same,each of said door sections including a plurality of leaves forming thesection with said leaves being guided in structures at the edges thereofand parallel to one another, fixed guide structures positioned at theedges of said opening and mounting the edges of the leaves forming theend sections in said opening, a movable guide structure mounting theopposite edges of the leaves of the end sections, said movable guidestructure being formed of a fixed part and a pair of movable parts in atelescopic relationship with guide surfaces at the edges of the movableparts to guide the leaves in vertical movement, and roller meanspositioned between the fixed and movable parts of the guide structure toguide the movable parts within the fixed part in the elevation of thesame with the Leaves being positioned in the movable parts in allpositions in elevation.